Artistry and the Man-o-War

[Dave_E]

Hi All,

 

As I follow many of the outstanding examples of nautical history here on MSW, I am continually amazed at the artistry and intricacy that went into the building of a wooden ship that went out to sea and got blasted to splinters. All the carvings, fancy railing, all the way down to the furniture I imagine. I thought about this while watching tall ship movies as the ships got cannon ball-itis, but seeing the examples of ships with their artistry and color that are made here on MSW just makes my head spin. 😀 Its a pleasure to constantly watch and view such wonderful works that keep nautical history alive.

[Oldsalt1950]

Dave,

     Have you seen all the Hornblower movies put out by A&E on the Ruku channel? 

[flyer]

Perhaps they thought, that of course only enemy ships would eventually resemble the proverbial Swiss cheese. To be shot at, that's what enemy ships were there for after all. Own ships would never get harmed.

 

Perhaps it started in the middle ages (Sovereign of the seas, Vasa) when kings wanted to intimidate their enemies with the sheer beauty and richness of their war machines to make them loose all confidence - not unlike the way the church in those times would try to impress poor countrymen with splendour and grandeur.

 

(BTW -  there is only one of the about 15 most common sorts of Swiss cheese which has those proverbial holes.)

 

Peter

[Dave_E]

14 minutes ago, Oldsalt1950 said:

Dave,

     Have you seen all the Hornblower movies put out by A&E on the Ruku channel? 

I have… at least 3 times, along with all the Pirates of the Caribbean many times and any of the others that I can find. 👍😀

[allanyed]

22 minutes ago, flyer said:

Perhaps it started in the middle ages (Sovereign of the seas, Vasa) when kings wanted to intimidate their enemies with the sheer beauty and richness of their war machines to make them loose all confidence

Flyer, I agree that the Renaissance period was full of artistry in many ways, not just the works of Michelangelo and Da Vinci.  It seemed to have carried over to vessels of most, if not all, seafaring nations including the two you mention.  Whatever the reason, it is a wonder to see.   Even the carvings on the contemporary models continue to amaze us.

Allan